Pages

line

Saturday, 14 May 2016

Coast To Coast: 'Dwell' EP Review

I had the pleasure of photographing Coast to Coast at a local show in Wolverhampton last year and I was pleasantly surprised with their live performance. For me they stole the show and their debut EP “Dwell” is no exception. For me Pop-Punk is my favourite genre however there is a plethora of bands all offering similar styles which are hard to tell apart and are never refreshing. In my opinion there are three tiers in the Pop-punk cake, bands like Green Day, Blink-182, Fall out Boy, New Found Glory etc. classic bands that have surpassed either the genre or are solidified as the staple bands. Tier 2 where bands like The Story So Far, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years etc. have captured a generation but are now becoming stale in some ways with their content. Then there is Tier 3 where I place all other bands that either copy the staples or are just outright boring unfortunately.

Coast to Coast are a band destined for great things in the Pop-Punk genre and for me are already a Tier 2 band. “Dwell” is a great example of a new fresh take on the genre. The best thing for me is the vocals which is what set apart Pop-Punk bands often, it’s simple there are no American impersonations like Neck Deep for example. Pair that with well written soulful lyrics and riffs and this is possibly the best Debut EP I’ve heard in a while.

“Bloom” I think is my favourite track on the EP, it features a very catchy chorus and very beautiful filling riffs very reminiscent of A Day to Remember. “Cornerstone” is another great track and I feel this band will go far in the near future. The production on this debut EP is amazing and I think I will be messaging one of the lads in the band to find out who recorded it because they really know what they are doing. My only gripe with the EP is the last track “Bunkbeds” a song I loved seeing live seems to be either recorded with the guitar slightly flat or just needed a different acoustic all together, it takes me away from an otherwise perfect EP.

A Music video for “Bloom” was released recently and depicts their live shows very well, it’s your run of the mill Pop-Punk video nothing new but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it right? For the record though the video is very professionally recorded and put together so hats off to the director.

Right now the band are on tour with “Better Than Never” and I urge you if you can to go to one of the shows and experience both bands you must, also search for the band and support them, buy this EP you won’t regret it, trust me.